Chereads / SSS Rank Hunter's Reggresion / Chapter 10 - Chapter 10: The Veterans of the New World

Chapter 10 - Chapter 10: The Veterans of the New World

The world had shifted. The streets were quieter now, as hunters and survivors alike tried to rebuild what was left of their cities. Two weeks had passed since the chaos had struck, but in the aftermath, the nature of survival had evolved into something more brutal, more defined. The hunters, those once ordinary men and women, had been forged into weapons, their resolve tempered by endless trials. And those who had survived twenty dungeons were no longer just hunters — they were veterans of a world that had gone through hell and come out the other side.

The dungeons were the heartbeat of the new world. With the rift's explosion, these anomalies had appeared across the globe, leading hunters to face dangers far beyond their comprehension. These dungeons were places of darkness, where reality twisted and the very laws of nature were bent to an unknown will. Inside them, creatures from nightmares lurked, waiting for the foolish or brave to challenge them. Only the strongest survived, and those who managed to clear twenty dungeons — a feat that only a handful had accomplished — were regarded as legends.

Kael Darnis, now the world's highest-ranked hunter, had cleared countless dungeons in his time. But his success wasn't just about his power. It was about his will to survive, to push through the overwhelming odds. And now, the survivors of twenty dungeons stood alongside him, each of them marked by their battle-hardened resolve, their eyes steely with the experience of knowing what it meant to face death time and time again.

At the headquarters, a new briefing was underway. The walls buzzed with energy as elite hunters prepared for their next mission. Kael, now used to the atmosphere of authority that surrounded him, stood at the front, his arms crossed, his eyes scanning the room. Around him, hunters of varying ranks prepared for the inevitable battle, each with their own reasons for fighting. Some were fueled by a desire for power, others by the need for survival. But there was one thing they all had in common — they had survived the dungeons, and that alone made them dangerous.

Among the group, there was a distinct divide. Most of the hunters in the room were still considered fresh faces in the grand scheme of things, having cleared their first few dungeons, still full of energy, still hungry to prove themselves. But then there were those who had been in the trenches for longer, those who had endured not just one dungeon, but twenty. They were the veterans, the ones who had faced horrors that others could barely imagine and come out of it with their lives. They walked with a quiet authority, their movements precise and measured. These were the hunters who knew that survival wasn't about strength alone — it was about adaptability, experience, and the cold knowledge that every dungeon was a gamble.

Kael looked at the veterans, his eyes lingering on them for a moment. They had the same look in their eyes as him — a hardened gaze, a flicker of something darker hidden beneath the surface. They were not afraid of monsters. They had faced much worse. They had seen the horrors of the dungeons, and many of them had died more times than they cared to admit, only to be brought back by their teammates or sheer willpower. But they had survived, and that survival had turned them into something more than just hunters. They were warriors in a world where only the strong or the lucky lasted.

"You've all been briefed on the mission," Kael said, his voice steady but carrying the weight of authority. "But let me remind you — those who have survived twenty dungeons are not just hunters. You are veterans. You have knowledge that the others here don't. You know the risks. And your experience will be invaluable on this mission."

He paused, letting the gravity of his words sink in. The room fell silent, the hunters straightening as Kael's gaze swept across them. "There's a new dungeon location we've received intel on," he continued. "It's unlike anything we've faced before. The creatures inside are not just more powerful; they seem to be... adapting to our strategies. The environment inside is unpredictable, and the energy readings suggest that it's connected to the rift in ways we don't fully understand."

A low murmur of tension spread through the room. The veterans, however, were unfazed. They had faced dungeons that had shifted the ground beneath their feet, dungeons where time itself seemed to warp, dungeons where monsters evolved mid-fight. The veterans knew what Kael was saying — this mission would be no different. They'd either survive, or they wouldn't.

But it was that mentality that set them apart from the others. The veterans knew that death was just a part of the job. They'd died, been resurrected, and kept going. The survivors were the ones who had learned to never give up, no matter how bad the odds seemed.

One of the veterans, a woman with sharp features and a gaunt look in her eyes, spoke up. "We've faced this kind of thing before. The rift's influence is corrupting everything it touches. If the dungeon is connected to it, we need to move quickly. The longer we take, the more unpredictable the situation will become."

Another veteran, a burly man with a scar across his jaw, grunted in agreement. "The monsters inside will be like nothing we've faced before. We'll have to fight smart, not just hard. And we'll need to rely on our experience, not just our power. No one's making it out without teamwork."

Kael nodded, his gaze sweeping over the room. He could feel the tension in the air, the weight of the mission pressing on everyone. The veterans were used to this — they had seen it all before. But the rookies, the new hunters who had barely earned their place in the ranks, were nervous. They couldn't yet comprehend what it meant to truly face death head-on. They didn't yet know what it felt like to watch their comrades fall, to feel the cold grip of terror as they were thrust into the unknown.

"The rest of you are still learning," Kael said, turning his gaze to the younger hunters. "This mission will test all of you. But the veterans — they've been through hell, and they know how to keep their heads. Follow their lead, and you'll make it through this."

The room was silent for a moment before the young hunter who had been standing near the back spoke up, his voice shaky. "Kael, what happens if... if we don't make it back?"

Kael turned to him, his expression softening for the briefest moment. He had seen that fear in every rookie's eyes — the fear of the unknown, the fear of failure. But Kael had never had the luxury of fear. He had been forced to confront it, to push it down and move forward.

"Then we do what we've always done," Kael replied, his voice low but firm. "We survive. And we fight another day."

As the briefing ended and the hunters began to prepare for their mission, Kael's mind drifted back to the dungeons. The number of hunters who had survived twenty of them was small — but they had changed. They were no longer the same people who had entered their first dungeon. They were forged in battle, tempered by death, and hardened by the horrors they had seen.

They were the veterans of the new world.

And they were the only ones who stood between humanity and the monsters that threatened to destroy it.

The world had changed, and those who had survived the dungeons were the ones who would shape its future.